The Giants and Vogelsong finally have a tentative target date for his return to the rotation: on or about Aug. 9, which would be just short of 12 weeks since he swung at a pitch and hurt his hand in a game against the Nationals on May 20.

Vogelsong threw 62 pitches in the bullpen in Arizona during the All-Star break and will face hitters for the first time Saturday. Then he would pitch once or twice for Class A San Jose to begin a rehab assignment. When the Giants visit Philadelphia and Tampa Bay the week of July 29, Vogelsong would pitch once or twice for Double-A Richmond, Va., likely July 30 and Aug. 4.

If all goes well, he could be activated as early as five days later. All of that, of course, depends on how he feels and throws

“I’ve got to go through it and make sure I can bounce back,” Vogelsong said. “I’m assuming everything will go well. It’s getting better every time (I throw). The timing is coming back. The pitches feel better coming out of my hand and my mechanics are coming back.”

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UPDATE: Wednesday, June 19, at 9:10 a.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Great news for Giants fans as Ryan Vogelsong is one step closer to returning to the mound after having pins removed from his surgically-repaired finger. MLB's Andrew Owens and Chris Haft have the latest:

Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong had all five pins removed from his right hand Tuesday, which could accelerate the pace of his recovery from his fractured right pinkie.

Vogelsong said that with all the pins gone, he'll be able to perform more mobility and flexibility exercises than he would if any of the pins remained. The pins were implanted in Vogelsong's pitching hand to keep his bones properly aligned.

'I was pretty happy about it,' said Vogelsong, who expected to have two or three pins extracted.

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UPDATE: Tuesday, May 21, at 11:00 a.m. ET by Sam Westmoreland

Vogelsong suffered a broken pinky knuckle on his hand, as well as another break in a different spot. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow and will be out four to six weeks, according to the team's official Twitter feed.

Vogelsong - Break in the pinky knuckle and one other spot. He'll have surgery tomorrow and will miss 4-6 weeks. #SFGiants

Vogelsong injured his hand when swinging at an inside pitch in the fifth inning. The ball ran into his hands as he was turning.

Ironically, it was in the midst of one of Vogelsong's best starts of the season. He had pitched five scoreless innings up until that point.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

It has been a nightmare season for the 35-year-old journeyman. He entered the game with a 1-4 record and an 8.06 ERA. In his previous start, he gave up three runs in two innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. His breakout campaign was in 2011, when he boasted a 13-7 record with a 2.71 ERA, and he compiled a 14-9 record with a 3.37 ERA in 2012.

Vogelsong is not the only starter who has struggled for the Giants in 2013. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum have ERAs of 5.43 and 4.70, respectively. Despite all of this, the defending champions have managed to stay afloat at 24-20 headed into Monday's affair, backed by their clutch offense and strong bullpen.

It's been a tough start to the 2013 campaign for the veteran Vogelsong, and it just got a whole lot more difficult after this freak accident. The Giants hope that he will be able to come roaring back when he returns, much like he did in his second stint with the franchise in 2011.